The Minister of Justice stated that amnesty is not within his competence

The Minister of Justice Muzaffar Ashuriyon stated at a press conference of the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan on August 8 that he knows nothing about the amnesty of prisoners.

Commenting on rumors about the amnesty of prisoners, Muzaffar Ashuriyon stated that this issue is the exclusive competence of the President of Tajikistan. The President will prepare and adopt the amnesty project whenever he wishes. The Minister emphasized that this issue does not fall within the competence of the Ministry of Justice.

Earlier, media reported that a “golden amnesty” would be held in Tajikistan. The news portal “Bomdod,” citing its sources, reported that the “golden amnesty” is expected on October 5, on Constitution Day, which coincides with the birthday of President Emomali Rahmon.

It was reported that between 15,000 and 20,000 prisoners would be covered by the amnesty. Typically, those convicted of minor offenses are released under amnesty. It is unknown whether the amnesty will apply to political prisoners and convicted journalists.

At the press conference, Minister of Justice Muzaffar Ashuriyon also discussed the issue of reforms in places of detention. In response to journalists’ questions, he stated that “reforms are ongoing primarily in the direction of rehabilitating convicts, creating favorable working and living conditions, constructing new and modernizing existing colonies, providing convicts with work, etc.”

The Minister of Justice claims that reforms are being carried out in the correctional colonies and prisons of the country, while recently there have been increasing complaints about inhumane and unbearable conditions in places of detention. Relatives of the convicts assert that the authorities constantly talk about improving the conditions of serving sentences in the colonies, but in reality, this is not the case at all. According to them, convicts are provided with clothing and medicines by their relatives.